An Observable Truth
by AccordingToMel
Summary: “You have got to be kidding me,” Cam states, sounding horribly unimpressed. She’s still glaring at Booth. He’s still standing on a chair. Both are not good. But he’s come this far, and Booth is not one to back down when he’s on a roll. Cam/Hodgins, B/B


**Title**: An Observable Truth

**Author**: AccordingToMel

**Summary**: "You have _got_ to be kidding me," Cam states, sounding horribly unimpressed. She's still glaring at Booth. He's still standing on a chair. Both are not good. But he's come this far, and Booth is not one to back down when he's on a roll. He just prays that he won't be pushed over the edge of the platform. That would hurt. A lot.

**P****airings:** Cam/Hodgins; Booth/Brennan

**Rating**: T (PG-13)

**Spoilers**: General season 3 and 4, but nothing specific

**Word Count**: 8,717

**Disclaimer**: Believe me, if I owned this show things would be quite different from how they are now.

**Author's note**: So I made it in time for Christmas! I was pretty worried that I wouldn't. Anyway, this turned out to be way longer than I initially anticipated, but that's okay. I enjoy a little challenge every once in a while. As always, constructive criticism is always welcome to help me with my characterizations and writing style. Thanks for reading!

Merry Christmas!

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**An Observable Truth**

When Booth wanders into the lab at 10:00 am on December 23rd, he doesn't expect the place to be empty, apart from Camille Saroyan. He has one goal right now – to find Bones, but it doesn't look like she's here. The lab is surprisingly squint free, and he's not entirely sure how to feel about that fact.

"Hey Cam," he begins as he swipes his access card and walks up the platform to the lab. "Have you seen Bones today?"

"Nope," comes the reply. Cam doesn't look up when he addresses her; instead she continues to sift through an unusually large box on one of the examination tables. "And I hope I don't for at least another couple of hours."

She continues to rummage through the box, and as he gets closer to his friend he notices that she's searching through a box full of Christmas decorations. Just as he arrives to stand directly across from Cam, she makes a triumphant noise and pulls out some sort of ornament.

"Excellent!" she mutters. Mostly to herself, he thinks. She nods at Booth and formally greets him with a friendly smile.

"Why not?" he asks, pushing aside his curiosity for the greater cause of finding out where his partner has disappeared to.

"Sorry?" comes the reply, complete with raised brow.

"Where did Bones go? You said she wasn't here. Where is she?" Booth tries again.

"Calm down big guy," Cam tells him with the hint of a smile. "She's at a team building seminar with the rest of the gang this morning."

Now it's Booth's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You're part of the team. Why aren't you there then?" he points out cleverly.

Cam stares at him for a moment. "Because I'm the boss and I have important things to take care of around here," she responds, resuming her search through the excessively large cardboard box.

Booth takes a look around the lab and notices for the first time that it has been thoroughly decorated with garland, lights and various Christmas ornaments. Glancing up at the overhead platform he sees a Christmas tree fully decorated, along with more garland and lights. There is also a banner hanging which reads: 'Happy Holidays'. None of this was there last night when he was last in the lab, so Booth is pretty sure that Cam has single-handedly decorated the lab for Christmas this morning.

"Important things like decorating for Christmas?" Booth teases with a grin.

"Hey, it's good for morale!" Cam defends, though her voice indicates no sign of shame. "I had help with most of this. I really just needed a morning to myself. There's only so much I can take sometimes…"

"The squints are driving you nuts, are they? Well I can relate," Booth shares with a chuckle. "Though I can't imagine any of them will be thanking you for this later." He decides it's a worthwhile point to mention.

"They don't have to thank me. They just need to attend," Cam tells him as she pulls another item from the box and places it on the table.

Booth shrugs and watches Cam silently as she moves across the lab to hang up the Santa Claus ornament she'd found earlier on a string of lights. He'd love to be a fly on the wall when the squints get back to see their lab turned into a Christmas circus. This is by far the most extravagant decorating job he's ever seen at the Jeffersonian.

"So…Bones…" he starts again, remembering why he came to the lab in the first place.

"Dr. Brennan should be back around lunch time," Cam tells him.

"Okay, great! See you later then," Booth tells her with a smile and a wave.

But apparently Cam is not going to allow Booth to leave. "Hold on a second Seeley. That's it? You come here looking for Dr. Brennan and then bolt when you find out she's not here?"

Booth gives her a look, as if to say, 'Yeah. _Obviously_.' Instead he says, "Pretty much."

It's at this point that he notices that she has a hand on both of her hips. He's pretty sure this can't be good.

"What's your hurry?" Cam asks, staring him down. "I'm not good enough company for you?" She's smiling though, so he knows it's just an act.

"You're the best of the best," Booth tries, knowing sweet talk never really worked with Cam in the past but attempting it anyway. "But weren't you the one who said you were incredibly busy taking care of important business while the squints were out?"

Cam nods, looking thoughtful. "Yes I did. But while you're here, I need your help with something."

"And what might that be?" Booth asks curiously.

She pushes the large box towards him. Or tries to. "I need you to carry this upstairs for me?" she asks with a hopeful grin.

"All the way up there?" he cries, and he knows he's whining, but that box looks _heavy_.

"Come on. Are you telling me you can't do it?" she teases, and he knows she's totally goading him on. He's got to learn to stop being such an easy target.

"Fine, I'll do it," Booth reluctantly agrees. Walking up to the table, he hefts the box up into his arms with a grunt. It is far heavier than he even anticipated, but he chooses his words carefully. "What, did you actually _put_ Santa in this box?"

"Funny," Cam deadpans. "Now follow me…"

*****

By the time Booth makes it up the stairs and returns the box that he is pretty sure contains a dead Santa to its rightful resting place, he is sore and sweating. And he's pretty sure that he's had enough for now.

"All right, well if there's nothing else…" Booth trails off hopefully, but he knows – he just _knows_ – that he shouldn't have left things open like that.

"Actually there is one more thing I need your help with," Cam shoots him a hopeful look. "If you're not too busy."

"Cam…" he starts in his serious voice, but she holds up her hands as if to silence him.

"Just one thing and I promise you can leave. Please?" she adds, almost as an afterthought.

And even though Booth actually does have things he needs to take care of before his Christmas holidays, he figures he's already here anyway. One more thing can't really hurt him. Or so he hopes.

"What do you need?" he finally asks, putting in extra effort to hide his reluctance.

Cam pulls out a sprig of leaves with some red berries and holds it out to him. Booth recognizes immediately that its mistletoe. He's not exactly sure where she's been hiding it all this time, but then again he wasn't really watching her as he hauled Santa's dead ass up the stairs anyway.

"Cam, I'm flattered, really. But you know that you and I just aren't going to work," he jokes, face alight with a mischievous grin.

Cam shoots him a look that conveys part annoyance and part amusement.

"Oh please," she says with a laugh. "You know I wasn't holding this out for you."

Booth places his hand dramatically to his heart. "I'm hurt Cam. Ouch." But when he sees the glare his friend is giving him, he grabs the mistletoe from her hand and looks around in an attempt to figure out the best way to hang it.

"Seriously, though, what's with the mistletoe Cam?" Booth ventures a few moments later.

"It's a holiday tradition. Why does there need to be something more to this?" she responds with a shrug.

"I don't know. You've never been a fan of mistletoe before. I just think it's interesting that you want to hang it up now. Unless there's someone you're hoping will use it?" He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, and silently thanks God for his ability to do that. It is a useful skill that has come in handy more often than he can count.

"Yeah. Maybe I have it set up for you and Dr. Brennan," Cam tells him with a smirk of her own, and it is immediately obvious that she has hit a sore spot.

"Hey!" Booth says forcefully. "We're not talking and Bones and me. We're talking about you."

Cam gives him a disbelieving look. "Actually, I believe we were talking about mistletoe and who wants who to use it. Nothing specific about me," Cam shoots back.

"Well leave Bones out of it." He is well aware that he is being defensive, but this is definitely a conversation that he doesn't want to have right now. Booth is glad when he figures out a place to hang the mistletoe and grabs a chair.

"Calm down big guy," Cam tells him, and it sounds like she's smiling but he can't really see her at the moment so he doesn't know.

He begins to rummage through the Santa box, searching for something to hang the mistletoe with while Cam silently watches on, arms crossed loosely. After a few moments the silence is starting to get to him.

"So who's the lucky candidate?" Booth ventures as he pulls a long string out of the box. Jackpot!

Cam laughs. "You're crazy Booth," comes the reply.

"Well, since we've already eliminated me, that leaves Clark – who is here quite often, Sweets and Hodgins. Unless you have a secret boyfriend that we don't know about?"

Cam rolls her eyes. "I sure don't, but I certainly wouldn't tell you if I did."

Booth grins at her reply, noting that she hasn't expressly denied his claims yet. He's thinking that perhaps he'll get lucky and learn something useful after all.

"So Clark seems a little _young_ for you, but I guess it's possible," Booth starts, thinking out loud. "But from what I've seen of the kid, he's way more focused on work then anything personal. So I wouldn't bank on him."

Booth is standing on a chair now, and it's at this precise moment that he decides that maybe it wasn't the best idea for him to begin this conversation in his current situation. Cam is staring at him incredulously with both hands on her hips, and she doesn't look overly impressed at the moment.

"You don't give up do you?" Cam shakes her head and Booth nods. "And for the record, I'm not interested in Clark."

Booth catches her slip immediately. "But you _are_ interested in someone then?"

"I never said that!" Cam claims, but he can briefly see the look of surprise that crosses her features, and he knows he's right.

"Okay, so not Clark," he muses, mostly to himself. "Sweets?" he asks. And really, it's all he can think of to say. It's not that he doesn't like the kid – he actually kind of does, contrary to common belief. He'd never admit it though. But he just can't imagine Cam being interested in their doctor friend.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," Cam states, sounding horribly unimpressed. She's still glaring at Booth. He's still standing on a chair. Both are not good. But he's come this far, and Booth is not one to back down when he's on a roll. He just prays that he won't be pushed over the edge of the platform. That would hurt. A lot.

"Well if it's not me and it's not Clark and it's not Sweets then that leaves only one other option…"

"Booth, stop being ridiculous," Cam tries to interrupt, but fails.

"Hodgins," he declares triumphantly. He also has managed to secure the mistletoe and takes this opportunity to step down off the chair that could potentially end his life. Though he fully recognizes that he's not out of the woods yet.

"So, Hodgins, huh?" Booth muses while Cam glares. "I can see that. You guys seem to be cosier than usual these days. Come to think of it, Hodgins kind of lights up when you're around."

"Booth, that's enough!"

"What the big deal Cam? It's not like anyone else is around to hear," he wisely points out, though he doubts that makes any difference in Cam's eyes.

"Seeley. We are not having this conversation. I'm not sure what fantasy land you've been living in, but I am not interested in Dr. Hodgins." And her tone indicates a finality to the conversation that ensures Booth knows it is officially done now.

So, like the gentlemen that he can be (though doesn't always choose to be), he decides that now is the time to back down a bit. "Okay, look…I'm sorry. Your personal life is none of my business and I'm sorry if I upset you. No hard feelings?" He smiles and hopes she accepts his apology – though he is still convinced by her reaction that he's right about Hodgins.

Cam studies him for a moment, as if trying to gauge his sincerity. After an extended pause she nods and gives him the faintest hint of a smile, apparently appeased with what she saw. "It's Christmas time, so all right. But don't make it a habit."

Booth is about to leave finally when it occurs to him that he has something important to say to Cam.

"Permission to speak on the subject one last time?" Booth asks, knowing full well what her answer is going to be.

"Denied," comes the automatic reply, though they both know that this isn't going to stop him.

"Hodgins is a good guy Cam," he starts waving his arms to keep her silent. "He may be a squint, but he's still a good guy. He treated Angela like a princess and he's fiercely loyal. You could do so much worse."

And with that, he hurries away before she has a chance to respond.

*****

Booth returns a couple hours later to find that Angela is the only one in the lab this time around. He's starting to get concerned about Bones, but at least he's getting a little closer to finding her. Angela should hopefully know where her best friend is.

"Hey Angela," he greets as he steps up onto the platform.

Angela shoots him her typically radiant smile. "Hey Booth. You looking for Bren?"

Booth nods. "Do you know where she is?"

"I think she went out to grab some lunch. She left about 15 minutes ago so I'm sure she'll be back soon," Angela informs him, moving around one of the lab tables to stand across from him. "Why do you want to know?"

Booth can already tell that Angela is trying to read something in to why he's here, and he knows he'll need to be careful not to provide her with any information that might give off the wrong impression.

"It's nothing important. I just need to talk to her."

"Nothing important? Really? So you've come to the lab twice today for nothing important?" Angela counters, crossing her arms and grinning triumphantly.

"How did you know about that?" Booth asks, before realizing that he hasn't even tried to deny it.

"I have my sources," she admits mysteriously.

"And what sources might those be?"

"Well Pete, the main entrance security guard, likes me quite a lot. Not going to get into details on that story, but just trust me when I say that he likes me a _lot_."

Booth scrunches up his face in disgust. "Angela, seriously. That's too much information!"

Angela just smirks and carries on. "Anyway, so I get him to let me know if anything...unusual...or interesting is going on."

"Like me coming to the Jeffersonian?" He raises a questioning brow.

"Yeah, sort of."

"Do you mean to tell me that you actually track my comings and goings?" Booth asks, unable to hide the surprise written across his face.

Now it's Angela's turn to scrunch up her nose in disgust. "Oh please. That's stalker creepy. I just like to be kept up to date. Speaking of which, tell me what you're here to see Brennan about."

Booth gives her another incredulous look. "You're kidding right?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"Angela, it's nothing."

"Then if it's nothing, you shouldn't have a problem telling me."

Booth glares at her. "Angela!"

"Fine, fine...whatever. Be like that," she responds, raising her hands in the air as a sign of surrender.

"Thank you," Booth tells her warily.

"So...what are your Christmas plans?" Angela asks him a few moments later.

"I thought we weren't talking about that anymore," Booth says, folding his arms protectively across his chest. He wonders about Angela's persistence sometimes. He's sure it'll get her into trouble one of these days.

Suddenly Angela is grinning like the Cheshire cat. "I never mentioned anything about Brennan. Does that mean that you're planning on spending Christmas with her? Or, maybe you're here to ask her if she wants to spend Christmas with you? This is so exciting! It's about time."

Booth instantly feels like an idiot. How did he let that one slip? She just did the same thing to him as he had done to Cam earlier this morning. He really must not be on his game right now. Plus, he's kind of bothered by the fact that Angela figured out exactly why he was here. Though Booth supposes he really shouldn't be surprised. He's fairly certain that Angela is psychic.

Angela keeps on gushing and talking about how romantic that prospect is and all Booth wants is for her to stop talking about this. What if Cam or Hodgins or heaven forbid – Bones – comes back and hears all of this?

"Hey, did you know that Cam is interested in Hodgins?" Booth blurts out. But the second he says the words and sees the shocked expression on Angela's face, he knows it probably wasn't the best plan. He just wanted to take her attention off of Bones and him. But in retrospect it probably wasn't the wisest way to go about doing so.

"Excuse me?" Angela asks with two raised eyebrows. "She told you this?"

"Well she didn't exactly tell me in so many words..." he trails off, looking and feeling sheepish.

"Then what makes you think that Cam is interested in Jack?" Angela prods, still staring him down.

Booth rushes to explain. "Because I was here earlier and we got to talking and I guessed that she was interested in someone, which she didn't deny." Booth pauses to give Angela one of his 'I'm-totally-right' looks, which is countered by Angela's patented 'I-need-the-dirt-to-believe-this' look. He decides to carry on. "Anyway, so I started to guess different people around the office and when I got to Hodgins she completely shut down and told me that the conversation was officially over."

"Hmm, sounds like someone else I know," Angela muses, smirking at Booth. He chooses to completely ignore the comment. But a moment later, she is back to business once again. "That is interesting though. I wonder when this happened?"

Angela stares off into space with the ghost of a frown on her face, and it is at this moment that Booth realizes that perhaps the idea of Hodgins with someone else could potentially be upsetting to her.

"Actually, I doubt it has anything to do with Hodgins at all," Booth begins in what he hopes sounds like a nonchalant voice. "I was pushing her and being nosy and she was probably just getting annoyed with me. I'm sure that's why she told me the conversation was over. Not because it had anything to do with Hodgins." Booth knows he's rambling now, but he can't seem to help it. He never meant to hurt Angela by bringing this up in the first place. She's one of the only sane people around this place, and he has to admit that he's grown quite fond of her.

"Booth," Angela begins with a laugh. "You don't have to change your stance all of a sudden because you think this is going to upset me." Booth looks surprised, but says nothing. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine with this. Hodgins and I are no longer together, and I've moved on. I'm with Roxie now. He can date whomever he wishes and honestly, I just want him to be happy."

Booth nods, studying his friend. He can tell that she means it, which is no surprise to him. Angela really is an incredible woman. Bones is lucky to have her as a best friend, he muses to himself.

"Okay then. But do me a favour? Don't mention any of this to anyone. Especially not Cam or Bones. The last thing I need is to be murdered right before Christmas. What would Parker do without his old man?" Booth exclaims, throwing in his charm smile for good measure.

Angela rolls her eyes dramatically, but nods. "Okay. Your secret is safe with me. But I'll be honest - I don't think I can sit on this for too long. It's too juicy. But for now, I can keep it to myself."

"Thank you. That's all I ask," Booth tells her.

"So anyway, going back to our earlier conversation," Angela begins with a mischevious smirk. "Were you planning on spending Christmas with Brennan?"

Booth looks about ready to bolt, when suddenly his cell phone goes off. He's pretty sure that he's never been so happy to receive a phone call in his life. He pulls out his phone and presses the 'talk' button, bringing the phone up to his ear. "Booth."

"Yeah, Booth. It's Agent Walker. I need you to get back to the office right away."

"Why?"

"It's important. Just get back here as soon as you can."

"Okay, see you soon." Booth hangs up and looks at Angela, who is still watching him. "Sorry, but I have to run. Duty calls!"

And with that, Booth is practically running off the lab platform. He does pause to turn back once and yell back to Angela, "Tell Bones I'll see her this evening at the Christmas party." Then he's off again. He's managed to avoid answering any serious questions so far, but he's not sure how long he'll be able to avoid Angela's line of questioning.

*****

Hodgins is in the process of dissecting a horsefly when he hears a loud cough from somewhere off the lab platform. He automatically assumes that it has nothing to do with him and continues to work. But when the person coughs again, louder this time, and calls out, "Excuse me?" he knows that it's probably meant for him after all.

Standing, Hodgins walks over to the main entrance to the lab and sees a woman standing with her arms crossed in front of the stairs. She has short curly black hair cut in a stylish fashion, a dark olive complexion, and is wearing a dressy business suit. She doesn't look overly impressed, if the frown on her face is any indication. If she didn't look so angry, Hodgins thinks that she'd probably be an attractive woman.

"Can I help you?" Hodgins asks, swiping his card and walking down the stairs to stand across from the woman.

"Yes you can. I'm looking for Camille Saroyan. Do you know where I can find her?" the woman asks, an air of authority in her voice.

"She should be in her office," Hodgins tells the woman, who immediately begins to walk in the direction that she likely assumes leads to the offices. "But you need to have access," he adds, following the woman.

She stops and whirls around to stare at him. "I need access? Really? That seems awfully extreme."

Hodgins feels uncomfortable under her stare and decides that he should probably go find Dr. Saroyan as soon as possible.

"Um, let me go get her for you," Hodgins says with a smile as he starts to walk away. "I'll be right back…"

He doesn't turn around to check, but he's pretty sure she doesn't smile back.

A few moments later Hodgins is walking into Dr. Saroyan's office, who appears surprised to see him. She turns her attention away from the computer screen but doesn't stand up from her chair.

"Dr. Hodgins, what can I do for you?" she asks in a friendly tone.

"There's some woman here to see you," he informs his boss.

One eyebrow shoots up, a look of confusion and curiosity settling across her features. "Okay. Who is it?"

"I'm not sure. She didn't say. But she doesn't look happy. She looks like a lawyer or something, with that fancy suit she's wearing," Hodgins shares with a shrug.

Cam suddenly looks a little panicked. "Lawyer? Does she have curly black hair and look kind of like me?" she asks, standing up now.

Hodgins thinks back and does a mental comparison in his mind of the two women. He never noticed it initially, but Cam is right. They _do_ kind of look similar.

"Yeah, I guess so. Why?"

"Oh God!" Cam's eyes widen and she rushes around her desk over to the office door, shutting it quickly behind her.

Hodgins gives her an incredibly confused look. "Um, did I miss something?"

"That," Cam points out the window in the general direction of the lab, "is my sister."

"Okay. I'm still not seeing the problem here."

"That woman is a demon. What on earth could she be here for?" Cam starts to pace back and forth slowly.

"Maybe she came by to give you a Christmas card?" Hodgins suggests lamely. Cam just glares at him.

"No, I'll tell you why she's here. She's here to rub something in my face. Maybe to hassle me about not having a date to our family Christmas gathering. Possibly both."

Suddenly a memory surfaces in his mind. "Hey, is this the sister that kissed Booth to make you jealous?"

If looks could kill, Hodgins would be a dead man after that last comment. He's kind of regretting coming to work today.

"One and the same," Cam shares, shaking her head in frustration. "But how did you find out about that?"

"I have my sources," Hodgins tells her slyly. Cam does not look impressed with him at all.

Hodgins tries not to smile. If Cam didn't look so upset, he'd make some sort of snarky comment. But as it is, she seems to be quite frustrated with the knowledge that her sister is in the building and he decides that it would probably be in his best interest to help his boss instead of mocking her.

"I can tell her that you're not here," he offers with a shrug.

"You've already been in my office for several minutes. It's been too long," Cam says with a sigh. "It'll never work."

"What will never work?" a voice asks from the door, and both individuals turn to see who's speaking.

"Felicia!" Cam exclaims, and rushes over to her sister who is conveniently standing in the doorway. Hodgins is pretty sure that the door was closed and has to wonder how the woman opened it without either of them noticing. Cam gives the other woman what can only be described as an awkward embrace before ushering her into the room.

"So what are you doing here?" Cam asks in a friendly tone, but Hodgins can hear the strain in her voice.

"What? Can't I come visit my sister at work?" Felicia responds, not so subtly checking out Cam's office.

Cam smiles politely. "Yes. But you've come here twice in the three years I've worked here, so I just naturally assumed that there might be a reason."

Felicia shakes her head. "I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by." She pauses for a moment and then adds, "Cute little office you have here."

Even Hodgins notices the passive aggressive dig. He instinctively backs up, hoping that they forget that he's in the room.

"Thanks," Cam forces out.

"Also, what's this about needing clearance to come to your office?" she adds, raising her eyebrow. Hodgins notes that they do that eyebrow thing the same. Must be a family trait, he figures.

"It's just a security measure," Cam tells Felicia. "It's safer this way for everyone."

"Why? Are you at some kind of risk here?"

"Not exactly. But it's possible. Anyway, it's just better to be safe than sorry," Cam tells her hurriedly.

Felicia shrugs, but her features actually soften for a moment in what looks like concern.

"So please don't think that I'm trying to get rid of you, but was there something you wanted? I'm just pretty busy here trying to tie up loose ends on a few cases," Cam says a moment later.

Felicia raises an eyebrow again. "So close to Christmas? Shouldn't you be getting ready to go on vacation instead?"

"Yeah, well that would be ideal. But no."

"So do you have a date to our Christmas eve dinner?" Felicia asks.

Cam sighs and places one hand on top of her desk, looking down at the floor. "Do we really need to get into this right now?"

"It's just a friendly question," comes the reply. Hodgins can see the manipulative look on Felicia's face, and he can feel himself start to get angry.

Cam stares straight at her sister, a look of annoyance and defeat on her face. Hodgins isn't used to seeing her behave in this manner, and it's quite frustrating to him to see someone treat his friend and boss so disrespectfully. He decides that he is not a fan of Felicia.

"Fine. If you really want to know-"

"She's going with me," Hodgins interjects suddenly, and both women turn to face him with equally shocked expressions. He's pretty sure that they'd forgotten he was in the room until this very moment.

Felicia is the first one to find her voice. "With you?" she asks, tone a mixture of surprise and curiosity.

"Yes, with me," Hodgins tells her, and shoots a quick glace at Cam to see if she's ready to kill him. He's fairly certain that this was a very stupid idea and he should have just kept his big mouth shut. But she's not glaring. In fact, she still looks quite surprised. But not angry. He hopes that's a good sign.

"And who are you?" Felicia asks, taking a step closer to Hodgins, giving him the very obvious once over.

"Jack Hodgins," he says, and holds out his hand.

"Well Mr. Hodgins," Felicia says, taking his hand. "I've never heard my sister mention you before. But I suppose it's nice to meet you."

Hodgins feels a slight sting upon hearing that Cam has never mentioned him. But he quickly remembers that Cam was not happy to have Felicia around and he decides to assume that they don't talk much in general. "Likewise," Hodgins shakes her hand and meets her eyes. "And it's Dr. Hodgins. Not Mister," he adds for good measure.

He can actually see her eyes light up upon learning that he's a doctor. She is now smiling at him, and Hodgins assumes that he's passed her superficial test – whatever it may be.

It is at this moment that Cam finally finds her voice again, and steps up to join the conversation, directing her attention at Felicia. "Okay, so now you two have met. You'll see him tomorrow evening. Thanks for stopping by, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave now," Cam says. And somehow, within mere seconds, she has managed to usher her sister out the door. Hodgins wonders why she didn't just do that in the first place.

When Cam turns back to look at him, he immediately begins to explain what he was thinking, praying that he hasn't completely ruined any chance he ever had with her by doing such a monumentally stupid thing. "I'm sorry I just jumped in there like that. I just couldn't stand listening to her gloat like that and treat you like crap. I know I shouldn't have said anything and I'm sorry that I've now made things a million times more complicated for you…" He stops talking when he feels Cam's hand on his arm.

"Stop apologizing," she orders with a smile. Then she sighs lightly and carries on. "I appreciate the gesture. But obviously I know you have other plans, so I won't hold you to this."

But Hodgins shakes his head. "No, not really. I mean, I was going to go to Montreal to ski. But a home cooked meal sounds so much more appealing," he tells her, and really hopes that he doesn't sound as pathetic as he thinks he does.

"Don't cancel your plans on my account, Hodgins," Cam tells him, though she doesn't meet his eyes.

"Hey, I can ski any time. Christmas only comes once a year," he responds with a grin.

Cam looks up at him then, piercing him with a strong gaze. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. As long as you want me there."

Cam smiles and nods. "I won't say it's going to be a ball, but it'll be nice to have some good company to help counteract Felicia."

"Good. Then it's settled. By the way, I would like to state for the record that I take back everything bad I've ever said about you," Hodgins admits with a smirk. "Compared to your sister, you're like a puppy."

Cam holds up a finger. "Watch it, Hodgins. She may be a pain in the ass, but she's still my sister." But she is smiling, so he knows he can't be in that much trouble. Besides...he's saving her a world of hassle, so he figures that she kind of owes him.

"Thank you again," Cam tells him with a grateful smile. "I don't know how to make it up to you."

Hodgins looks at her in silence for a few moments, smiling himself. He's pretty sure that spending the evening in her company will be payment enough. But instead he says, "Don't worry about it. Just make sure that you don't leave me alone with her."

Cam laughs at that and nods. "_That_ I can do."

Hodgins leaves her office a few moments later, grin still etched into his features. He thinks it will probably be a while before that smile disappears.

*****

Lance Sweets is in a very good mood by the time the lab Christmas party rolls around. He usually enjoys these types of gatherings because it gives him a chance to really observe people at their most natural and relaxed. He is especially curious to see how the night unfolds, as he's been noticing a fair number of odd dynamics between different individuals over the past couple of months. Sweets knows these people well enough now, having been a part of their team for over a year, that he is looking forward to seeing what kinds of things pop up.

He may be young, but Sweets knows that he's always had a knack for reading people. For a while he considered joining the police force as one of those people who observed body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions during interrogations to aid with the process. In the end, he figured he could probably be of more use as a psychologist. Though he finds it mildly ironic that he's ended up at the Jeffersonian, essentially doing both.

Sweets is also pretty sure that he will be the first one to arrive at the party that evening, if past history with everyone in the lab is any indication. He is pleasantly surprised, however, when he finds that everyone is there except for Dr. Brennan and Dr. Hodgins. And it's not even 6:30 pm yet.

"Wow, almost everyone is here," Sweets states, unable to hide how impressed he is. "And here I thought you were all incapable of showing up on time for an event."

"Party started at 6:00, Sweets," Booth pipes up from the couch, smirk stretching from ear to ear. He really shouldn't be surprised.

Sweets takes a seat on one of the chairs across from Agent Booth and Angela, who are sitting on the couch, and beside Dr. Saroyan. Angela and Cam are holding onto mugs with what looks like coffee or hot chocolate. Clark has a glass of water, and Booth is drinking from a can of Cola. Unfortunately this is an alcohol free event, though Sweets doesn't really drink all that much anyway.

"Sorry about that Dr. Sweets," Cam tells him, shooting a glare in Booth's general direction. "We decided to push things back half an hour and I completely forgot to pass along the message."

"That's okay," Sweets says, in his slightly defeated sounding tone. In reality, he's pretty used to this by now, and he's in too good of a mood to allow this to ruin his evening.

"So where are Dr. Brennan and Dr. Hodgins?" Sweets decides to ask a few moments later.

"Right here," a voice answers from behind him. He turns to see Dr. Hodgins and Dr. Brennan standing behind him, each carrying a wrapped present. They walk over to the Christmas tree and place the presents underneath it. Dr. Brennan takes a seat beside Booth on the couch, and Dr. Hodgins sits next to Dr. Saroyan.

"Well, since we're all here, I guess we should get started," Cam says, standing up and walking over to the Christmas tree.

"Wait, what's going on?" Sweets asks, confused.

"We're doing a gift exchange game. Didn't you know about it?" Cam responds, looking genuinely surprised.

"Guess he didn't get that memo either," Booth pipes up with a chuckle.

"Booth," Dr. Brennan chides quietly and slaps his thigh.

"It's okay Sweets," Angela says with a smile. "I bought an extra gift just in case. You can give me the $10 later."

Sweets shakes his head at Booth and shoots an appreciative look in Angela's direction. "Thanks," he tells her.

Cam proceeds to hand out playing cards to each person in the room in order to play the game. She explains that the person with the lowest card starts by picking out a present from under the tree. Then the person with the next lowest card can either choose a present from under the tree, or steal what the first person opened, in which case the first person would pick another gift from under the tree. It can carry on for several rounds, allowing people to keep trying to steal the present that they want, but the group decides to only do two. By the end, everybody is satisfied with their gifts. Everyone except Booth, that is.

"What am I going to do with a drink holder tie in the shape of a Christmas tree?" he exclaims. "Seriously, I didn't even know they make these things anymore. Who would buy this kind of crap?"

Sweets notices that Hodgins is cracking up in the corner and concludes that he was likely the one who purchased the gag gift. "Come on, man. It's gold! It's the perfect gag gift," Hodgins declares through his laughter.

Booth glares and points a finger at the man. "You're the one who bought this, aren't you? I will get you back for this Hodgins, you can bet on that." But Booth is smirking, obviously finding some humour in being bested by the doctor. Hodgins just waves him away and continues to laugh.

A few moments later, the food arrives and everyone digs into the Chinese they had delivered. It is easy going and relaxed and there is good conversation. So it's no surprise that Sweets soon finds he's having a great time and not even paying attention to the group dynamics. At least not until after dinner, when more mingling begins, and he finds himself off to the side, watching everyone.

"It's interesting, isn't it?" Angela says, coming up beside him.

"What is?" Sweets asks, turning to look at her.

"They're all so unbelievably clueless."

"Who?"

Angela snorts, eyes widening in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? Booth and Brennan? Cam and Hodgins? It's so obvious to everyone else except themselves."

"Cam and Hodgins? Really?" Sweets questions, wondering how he totally missed the boat on that one.

Angela tilts her head and smiles sheepishly. "Okay, so fine…the Cam and Jack thing is new. But now that I know about it I can't believe I didn't notice it sooner."

"Cam and Hodgins are interested in one another as well?"

"Well apparently Cam has feelings for Hodgins. According to Booth. But he's dense himself, so I wouldn't necessarily take anything he says at face value," Angela tells him with a shrug. "But just watching them now convinces me that Booth is totally right. Look at the body language. It says a lot." She gestures towards the group standing off near the tree.

Cam and Dr. Brennan are engaged in a conversation beside Agent Booth and Hodgins, who are also conversing about something. But now that he's watching, he can see how close Booth and Brennan are to one another. There is a natural comfort that just comes along with such a close relationship like the one they have. Across from them stand Dr. Saroyan and Hodgins, who seem to constantly be sneaking glances at each other. Booth and Brennan, being too wrapped up in themselves to notice anyone else, wouldn't catch on to the glances, but the nosy coworkers in the opposite corner of the room are treated to quite the display. Sweets realizes that Angela is completely right, and he's impressed with her observational prowess.

"You know, you're pretty good at this. Maybe you should consider changing careers," Sweets suggests to Angela.

"You're right – I'm amazing. But thanks for confirming it," Angela says with a confident grin.

"You guys are ridiculous," Clark mutters quietly from somewhere near by. Both turn to glare at him before turning their attention back to the four across the room.

Suddenly Angela lets out a high pitched squeal. "Booth, Brennan! You two are standing under the mistletoe! That means you have to kiss."

Simultaneously, both Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth look up to see that they are, indeed, standing under the mistletoe. Dr. Saroyan and Hodgins take a couple of steps back, presumably to get out of the spotlight, while Angela rushes up to them.

"Is this really necessary?" Brennan asks skeptically.

"Yes! It's tradition. You have no choice," Angela informs her.

"But I don't believe in these silly traditions anyway," Brennan replies, glancing at Booth briefly.

"Doesn't matter. You still have to do it," Angela retorts.

They continue to argue for several minutes before Booth finally raises his hand to interject.

"Oh come on Bones. I'm sure we'll survive," Booth says, and before anyone can even react, he leans down and kisses Brennan softly on the lips. When they pull apart a few moments later, everyone is cheering and they're both looking kind of embarrassed. But Sweets can see the happiness that is written across both of their faces.

The party carries on for a while longer, but no one else dares to wander into the mistletoe area of the room. At one point Sweets looks over and notes that Cam looks mildly disappointed. He makes a mental note to keep an eye on her and Hodgins. It could end up turning into something interesting.

*****

It is late when Hodgins decides to head home. He probably should have left with everyone else, but for some reason he can't stomach the idea of going home to an empty house this evening. He owns a huge home, but it has become decidedly lonelier since the departure of Zack and Angela from his life. So he often spends incredibly late hours at the lab doing work. It's not a

With a sigh he feels the door shut behind him and the cool of winter start to settle in to his bones. He heads towards the parking lot, but is stopped by movement in his peripheral vision. Turning his head to the left, he notices that there is a woman sitting on the bench. It's late and it's cold and he figures that he should probably go see who is outside in the cold at this hour. As he gets closer, Hodgins is shocked to see that it's Cam.

"Dr. Saroyan?" Hodgins asks with a raised brow. "What are you doing out here?"

Cam looks up at him from under a floppy black hat. "My car won't start. I'm waiting for my sister to come pick me up," she tells him.

"I could have driven you home," Hodgins responds immediately, leaving the unspoken question hanging in the air as to why she didn't ask him in the first place.

Cam smiles. "I thought you'd left already. Believe me, if I'd known I would have gladly chosen to go with you instead."

Hodgins nods, feeling a sense of relief flood over him and smiles back.

"Well, I can still drive you," he says, in what he hopes sounds like a casual tone.

"I appreciate that, but she's already on her way," Cam informs him, and he's pretty sure he hears a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Hodgins stands beside the bench for a few moments, hands in his jacket pockets while he contemplates what to do. "Well, if you're not going to let me drive you home, the least I can do is wait with you until your sister arrives."

Cam opens her mouth to protest, but Hodgins is already in the process of sitting down on the bench beside her. "You don't have to do this, you know," Cam tries anyway, but she doesn't sound overly convincing.

"I know that," Hodgins replies, shooting her a sideways smirk. "But it's not like I have anything waiting for me at home."

The second the words are out of his mouth, Hodgins regrets them. He has done nothing today except make himself sound desperate, and that is certainly not the impression that he wants to give to Cam. But the damage is done, so he decides not to say anything else on the topic and instead chooses to focus on staring intently at his gloved hands. He is surprised, however, when Cam responds similarly.

"I know the feeling," she admits. "I always talk about having a reasonable separation between work and your personal life. But sometimes I like the distraction that works provides for me so I don't have to think about my own lack of a personal life."

Hodgins can feel her gaze boring into the side of his face, and so he raises his head to meet her eyes. He has the distinct feeling that she's just shared something incredibly personal with him that may or may not have been accidental. But he can see a level of uncertainty in her expression. There is also an intensity there that he's never seen on her before, and he feels both terrified and exhilarated by it. So he smiles warmly at her for a moment so she knows that he's accepted her statement before looking away again.

They sit in comfortable silence for a few moments when he notices that Cam is shivering. Instinctively he moves a little closer to her, so their legs are now in physical contact.

"Are you cold?" he asks, knowing full well it's a stupid question but asking it all the same.

"A little. But I'm fine," she tells him.

But as she continues to fidget and try to hide her shivering, he decides to see what he can do to help. She's wearing a black jacket that looks a little on the light side for the season, and he suspects that she probably chose fashion over practicality, not knowing that she'd be in this situation later. She also has a hat and gloves on, but no scarf. So Hodgins does what he considers to be possibly the most pathetic thing he's ever done and removes his warm, wooly scarf from his neck.

"You can have my scarf," he tells Cam lamely, holding it out to her. He is pretty sure this was a bad idea and she's going to get up and walk away from him. But once again, he's committed himself to the action and it's too late to turn back now.

Cam looks at the scarf and then looks at Hodgins, an unreadable expression on her face. She seems to be trying to analyze his actions and the intention behind them, and Hodgins just starts to pray that she'll respond and get the humiliation over with.

But she surprises him when she takes the scarf from his hands and begins to wrap it around her neck. "Thank you," she tells him a moment later.

Hodgins nods, but says nothing. He thinks that his offer and her acceptance might be indicative of something, but he can't mentally afford to go down that path at the moment.

They remain in peaceful silence until a ruby red Honda pulls up in the parking lot. They both stand up at the same time, and even though Hodgins' car is parked in a parkade in the other direction, he walks Cam over to her sister's vehicle anyway.

"Thanks for waiting with me," she tells him with a smile. "And for the scarf." It is at this moment that she begins to remove the scarf from her neck.

But Hodgins reaches up and places his hand on her right wrist, holding her arm firmly in place and preventing her from removing the scarf. Cam seems to jump a little at his touch, and her warm brown eyes look up to meet his. "Just keep it. I'll see you tomorrow evening anyway," he tells her, finally removing his hand from her wrist.

"Okay." And there isn't really much else that needs to be said.

She is about to open the passenger side door when Hodgins suddenly calls her name. Cam turns to look at him expectantly, complete with a raised brow and questioning look.

And Hodgins isn't sure if the cold has finally settled into his brain, or if the spirit of Christmas has infected him and taken over his mind....but when she turns back to look at him, he is overwhelmed with the desire to kiss her. So with a sense of reckless abandon that he hasn't seen in himself in quite a while, Hodgins decides to go for it, to hell with the consequences.

He steps forward and cups the back of her head with his right hand, pulling her to him as his lips descend on her own. His kiss is gentle and tentative, but also revealing of his feelings for her. For a moment, Cam seems frozen in complete shock, as she allows him to kiss her. But just when he is about to pull away, he feels her respond to him, and he can feel her push up against him as one of her hands comes up to stroke the side of his face.

When they finally pull apart, both are red and breathing heavy, neither of which is from the biting cold outside.

"What was that for?" Cam asks with a contented smile on her lips.

Hodgins is smiling so brightly that he thinks he might light up the night sky. He wants to reach up and brush away a loose strand of hair away from her face, but decides that it's too soon for something like that. Instead he leans in closely. "I kind of missed my opportunity earlier with the mistletoe. Plus, I wanted to make sure that I kissed you first, just in case Felicia decides to pull another Booth on you," he whispers gently in her ear.

Cam rolls her eyes and laughs. "I doubt she will, but I'm glad you decided to take some precautions. See you tomorrow."

Cam winks at Hodgins before opening the passenger side door and stepping into her sister's car. Hodgins stands there and watches them drive away, a stupid grin plastered on his face, before he heads back to his own car. He's still not sure what this means for the two of them, but he does know that this is shaping up to be one of his best Christmas' ever.


End file.
